


Make it Work

by c00kie



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medical, Depression, F/M, Fluffy Romance, Mention of Death, and suicide, but really it's just a silly romance!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 12:03:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5004127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c00kie/pseuds/c00kie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Doctor Knope will see you soon." Ben is tired, stressed and overworked. He hates his life. He does not hate his new doctor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make it Work

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ashisfriendly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashisfriendly/gifts).



> For Ash. Unbetaed so please forgive any mistakes.

“Dr. Knope will be in to see you soon,” the nurse, Ann says, closing the door behind her. Ben sighs and looks around the examination room. It looks just like every other examination room he’s seen. There’s the box for laundry, another for used needles, a counter with jars of tongue depressors and cotton balls, a sink with a pink soap dispenser above it, a cabinet that’s probably full of supplies. There’s a shelf full of pamphlets and info-graphics. 

He waits ten minutes. His phone doesn’t get service, so he reads through all the pamphlets, including the one about cervical cancer. 

At least he doesn’t have to wear a gown. 

He imagines what this Dr. Knope must be like. The last doctor he saw here was Dr. Harris, who declared that Ben’s hands were small and weak even though Ben was just there for a sinus infection. 

He just hopes this Dr. Knope is nicer. 

At 3.45, the door swings open and a woman with blonde curly hair and a white coat comes in, announcing herself as “Dr. Leslie Knope.” 

Ben’s heart skips. “I’m Ben.”

“Well, Ben,” she says, smiling as she looks over his chart. “It says here you have a sore throat.”

“Yeah.” She comes over to him and he can see the freckles on her nose and cheeks. 

“Well, let’s check you out.” She takes her stethoscope from her neck and listens to his lungs, making him take deep breaths. She frowns. “Do you smoke?”

“Um, yeah.”

“Well quit,” she says, with a bit of a glare that does nothing to make Ben less attracted to her. 

“It’s a stress thing.” He doesn’t know why he’s trying to argue with her. He doesn’t even particularly like smoking. He just hates his job.

“Well, either eliminate the source of your stress or find a new hobby. I’m going to give you a prescription for the patch and give you some samples of nicorette gum. I hear they’re disgusting, so you’ll enjoy them.” 

Ben laughs. She’s this tiny thing that barely comes up to his shoulders but she carries herself with such confidence and authority. 

He thinks he might be in love. 

“Thanks.”

“Now, let’s look at that throat. I bet it’s the cigarettes that are causing it but we better double check.” 

He absolutely does not check out her ass while she’s getting a tongue depressor. 

“Open,” she orders. “Say aaah.”

Her eyes are insanely blue. He wonders if she’s dating anyone and what her stance on dating patients is. He’ll gladly go back to Dr. Harris and his insults if it means he can spend at least one night exploring Leslie’s body. 

“I’m going to run some tests, but I don’t think it’s strep.” She throws he depressor into the trash.

“That’s good.”

“It could be throat cancer.” she says while she goes through the rest of the check up.”

“Um-” Fuck.

“It’s probably not though. But you need to be careful. There was a guy once who performed oral sex on his girlfriend and she had HPV and it developed into throat cancer.”

“Wow. Really?”

“Really. They had to remove his teeth.”

Ben shudders at the thought. 

“You’re sexually active right?” she asks, making notes on his chart. “You use protection?” 

“Yeah and I’m tested regularly.” Never mind that it’s been months since his last successful date, not that his best friend hasn’t set him up with nearly every tall brunette he knows. 

The last one worked in a health food store and tried climbing mount Everest. It was like going on a date with the female version of Chris. 

“That’s good. And you exercise?”

“I run every morning.” 

“Great. It says here you were diagnosed with depression, are you still taking anything for that?”

“Yeah. Zoloft, twice a day.”

“Good. You feel okay?” 

“Okay, yeah.” He’d probably feel a lot better if he didn’t hate his job and had someone to come home to every day. Someone with blonde hair and blue eyes and a sucker sticking out of her pocket. 

“No thoughts of suicide?”

“Nope.” He doesn’t think the time he wanted to throw himself out a window while at work counts. He was only forty five percent serious.

“Great,” she smiles as if she genuinely means it. “Well I’m going to send my tech in here to take your blood and what not and I will get those Nicorette samples and your prescriptions written out for you. Is there anything else you need?”

Her number. “Nope.”

“Okay. Ann will be in in a jiffy.” 

-

He burns himself making dinner. It’s a foolish mistake, caused by a crisis at work that’s making him see double trying to fix. 

Eliminate the source of stress, he thinks, watching as his hand starts to blister. 

He needs a cigarette. He chews a piece of Nicorette instead. It really is disgusting. 

He drives himself to the E.R. 

To his surprise, he doesn’t have to wait in the waiting room very long. The nurse is a tall guy who introduces himself as Andy and sings Dave Matthews under his breath while he takes Ben’s blood pressure. 

“So uh, how did you become a nurse?”

“My ex is a nurse, and I broke my leg when I fell into a pit and Dr. Leslie took care of me and I met my wife here. She’s a lab tech and she convinced me to go back to school. She’s awesome.”

Ben swallows. “Uh, is that Leslie as in Leslie Knope?”

“Yep. She’s the on call doctor tonight too. You’re lucky too. The other guy is a dick. Don’t tell him I said that.”

“I won’t.”

“She’ll be in soon. It might be awhile though, you want me to get you a magazine?”

“I’m good,” Ben says. For Leslie, he would wait a year. 

He doesn’t have to wait a year though. Just an hour and a half. He dozes off, careful to keep his hand on is stomach and not move it so much. 

“I can come back later if you’re sleeping,” she says.

“Please don’t.” Ben grins and Leslie grins back and suddenly his hand doesn’t hurt anymore 

“So what happened?”

“I forgot baking sheets get hot when you put them in the oven. Also I think i might have left my oven on.”

Leslie scrunches her face. “Do you need me to call the fire department? I’m friends with the chief.”

“I don’t know.”

“You know what, I’ll call them just in case. What’s your address?”

“6010 West Sycamore.” 

“Oh that’s near where I live,” she says, beaming. “I’ll be right back.” 

He fall back on the bed and sighs. 

When she comes back she’s smiling. “They sent someone. Okay so you forgot to use an oven mitt. Let me take a look at that hand.” 

Her touch is delicate and she’s very careful not to touch the burn. “This looks like a doozy, but the good news is it’s only a first degree burn. Painful, but could be a lot worse.” She starts opening cabinets to retrieve antiseptic and gauze. 

“So,” she says while she bandages his hand, “What were you making?”

“A calzone.”

Her face scrunches and she shakes her head. “Really? You burned yourself over a calzone?”

“I like them.” 

Leslie sighs. “Weird. Are you still smoking?”

“I’m using that gum. I didn’t know you work here.”

“I’m still in residency,” she explains, “We have to put in so many hours in each department.”

“What do you like best?”

“I’m not sure,” she says, pushing her stool back and taking off her gloves. “Pediatrics is nice, but I do like the rush of working in the ER. You never know who’s going to come in. It could be a guy with an ax in his head or a mom with a newborn with colic or a cute guy who doesn’t know about oven mitts.”

“SHE THINKS YOU’RE CUTE,” inner Ben shouts.

“Yeah?” 

“I hate oncology. That place is just depressing.” 

Ben nods. “Um, I bet.” 

“So other than the hand, how are you? You said you quit smoking, how is everything else? Your throat giving you any more trouble?”

The sore throat turned out to be an infection that went away with antibiotics. 

“It’s all good,” Ben says. Now would probably be a bad time to kiss her. 

“Well good,” Leslie replies. “I’m going to recommend you take Tylenol for the hand and as your doctor, I really recommend you see a therapist. Dr. Richard Nygard is very good-”

“I don’t need-”

“You burned your hand because you forgot that things get hot inside an oven, and you forgot to turn the oven off when you came here.” Her voice is stern, her arms crossed over her chest. 

Ben’s never felt so bad about disappointing anyone in his life, and that includes his own father. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good,” Leslie smiles and all feels right in the world again. 

-

His door has been broken down and there’s a raccoon in his living room. 

But on the plus side, Dr. Leslie Knope thinks he’s cute. 

-

“I thought I told you to quit.”

Ben jumps at the sound of her voice and drops his cigarette on the ground. 

“And now you’re littering,” she huffs as he stomps it out. He bends down and picks the cigarette up and tosses it into the trash. 

“Better?”

“Maybe. Do you need any more of that gum? I have some in my purse-” she starts digging through her purse-”you know it’s one thing to pollute your own body but this is a park, trees live here.”

Ben exhales. “Go out with me.” 

Leslie looks up, her eyes connecting with his. She smiles but it quickly fades away. “I can't.”

“Right.” Ben stuffs his hands into his pockets, feeling like an idiot. 

“No, I mean I really can’t. I want to, but I work twenty four seven and when I’m not working I’m sleeping. I’m still on season two of “Grey’s Anatomy. It wouldn’t be fair to you. Also I’m pretty sure it’s against the rules.”

“I can get a new doctor. Dr. Harris isn’t so bad.”

“I really do think you’re cute,” she says. “Your terrible decision to smoke aside.” 

Ben smiles back. “Well, if you can’t go on a date, would you at least like to join me for a walk?” 

He now understands why the Greeks went to war with Troy. “I’d love that.” 

-

He quits his job. His boss pouts as she reads over his resignation. “Well, boo.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“You want a raise?” she asks, “Because if it’s a raise you want-”

“I don’t want a raise, Jessica. I just think it’s time to do something different.” Something good. Something that doesn’t make him feel like his soul is being crushed into tiny pieces. Something he can tell Leslie over dinner, if and when he ever gets the courage to ask her out. 

Two weeks later, he packs up his office, feeling better than he has in ages. 

-

“Ben Wyatt, what does this list mean?” 

Ben walks into his kitchen to see Chris frowning at the list he has on his fridge. It goes, 1: Quit Job. 2: Find another job. 3: Get the girl. 

All but number three are crossed off. He got a new job at an accounting firm. It’s not amazing, but it’s a step in the right direction, and he’s gone two months without a cigarette. 

“Oh, uh, I met someone. It’s complicated though.” He hasn’t seen her, but he has run into Ann, who has assured him that she’s fine, busy and not dating anyone at the moment. 

“She isn’t married is she?” 

Ben laughs and grabs two beers, handing one to Chris. “No, nothing like that. You ready to watch the game?” 

Chris grins, pointing to his Cubs shirt. “I was born ready.” 

The Cubs lose, but Ben doesn’t care. He stopped watching the game sometime in the sixth inning, choosing to spill all his angst on Chris instead. 

Chris though, being the guy he is, suggests an herb smoothie. Ben declines. Chris makes him one anyway. 

-

“Ben?” 

He knows he’s taking a huge risk but he figures he has absolutely nothing to lose. “A birdy told me you like waffles, and I figured you might be hungry.” 

He holds out the container from JJ’s, hoping the smell will entice her. 

“I could use a break,” Leslie says, taking her box from him. “Come on, we’ll eat in the doctor’s lounge.”

“Am I allowed?” 

“No, but if you don’t tell, I wont have to kill you.”

Ben grins. “Now that I know is against the rules.” 

-

It becomes tradition. Ann texts him to say Leslie’s on call, Ben goes to JJ’s, they eat together, sharing both small talk and huge life secrets. 

“You were a Yankee’s fan? Really?”

Ben hangs his head.“I know. I’m deeply ashamed.” 

One night, he gets a text at two in the morning. She’s coming. Sure enough, she shows up, soaked to the bone. He doesn’t know what’s rain and what’s tears. 

She falls into his arms, sobbing. He pulls her to the couch, not caring that she’s getting him wet. 

“Tell me what happened.” 

It takes her awhile, but through the sobs and hiccups and “Massive blood loss,” he understands. 

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Leslie says, voice rising, “I am supposed to save people, Ben. Not kill them.”

“You didn’t kill him, you did the best you could. And you have saved someone. You saved me.”

She crushes her lips against his. It hurts his teeth, but mostly it hurts his heart because this is not how it’s supposed to happen. 

“You’re soaking wet,” Ben says, pushing her away. “Let’s get you some dry clothes and get you to bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

He gets her an old shirt and a pair of boxers to wear and throws her clothes into the dryer. Then he shows her to his room. “Let me just grab a pillow-”

“No,” she says. “Stay with me. Please.” 

He can’t say no. He tells her he'll be right back and changes into his pajamas in his bathroom. When he comes back, she's already asleep. He could just take a pillow and go sleep on the couch, but he doesn't want to break his promise. So he gets into the bed, wraps his arm around her and closes his eyes. 

-

In the morning, he wakes up the smell of pancakes. He finds her in his kitchen, wearing his shirt and boxers and a pair of his favorite thick socks. 

“Sorry. I just have some time and I wanted to thank you for being so wonderful.”

“Oh. Well it’s nothing, really.” He would do it again, a million times over. 

“I hope you like the plain. I couldn’t find any chocolate chips.”

“Plain’s fine,” Ben says, taking his plate. “So how are you feeling?” 

“Crummy,” she admits, pouring far too much syrup on hers. “But better. I have to tell myself that the good outweighs the bad and ultimately I’m doing good.”

He grabs her hand. “You are.” 

She looks at his hand, then at him. “Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“I know last night wasn’t ideal but I have a couple hours if you want to...” Her eyes flicker toward his bedroom. 

He drops his fork onto his plate and quickly stands. “Hell yes I want to.” 

This time, kissing Leslie’s everything he imagined it would be. 

\- 

It’s not perfect, but they make it work.


End file.
